GETGRENT(3) BSD Library Functions Manual GETGRENT(3)NAME
getgrent, getgrent_r, getgrgid, getgrgid_r, getgrnam, getgrnam_r, setgroupent, setgrent,
endgrent -- group database operations
LIBRARY
Standard C Library (libc, -lc)
SYNOPSIS
#include <grp.h>
struct group *
getgrent(void);
int
getgrent_r(struct group *grp, char *buffer, size_t buflen, struct group **result);
struct group *
getgrgid(gid_t gid);
int
getgrgid_r(gid_t gid, struct group *grp, char *buffer, size_t buflen,
struct group **result);
struct group *
getgrnam(const char *name);
int
getgrnam_r(const char *name, struct group *grp, char *buffer, size_t buflen,
struct group **result);
int
setgroupent(int stayopen);
void
setgrent(void);
void
endgrent(void);
DESCRIPTION
These functions operate on the group database which is described in group(5). Each line of
the database is defined by the structure group found in the include file <grp.h>:
struct group {
char *gr_name; /* group name */
char *gr_passwd; /* group password */
gid_t gr_gid; /* group id */
char **gr_mem; /* group members */
};
The functions getgrnam() and getgrgid() search the group database for the given group name
pointed to by name or the group id pointed to by gid, respectively, returning the first one
encountered. Identical group names or group ids may result in undefined behavior.
The getgrent() function sequentially reads the group database and is intended for programs
that wish to step through the complete list of groups.
All three functions will open the group file for reading, if necessary.
The functions getgrnam_r(), getgrgid_r(), and getgrent_r() act like their non re-entrant
counterparts respectively, updating the contents of grp and storing a pointer to that in
result, and returning 0. Storage used by grp is allocated from buffer, which is buflen
bytes in size. If the requested entry cannot be found, result will point to NULL and 0 will
be returned. If an error occurs, a non-zero error number will be returned and result will
point to NULL. Calling getgrent_r() from multiple threads will result in each thread read-
ing a disjoint portion of the group database.
The setgroupent() function opens the file, or rewinds it if it is already open. If stayopen
is non-zero, file descriptors are left open, significantly speeding functions subsequent
calls. This functionality is unnecessary for getgrent() as it doesn't close its file
descriptors by default. It should also be noted that it is dangerous for long-running pro-
grams to use this functionality as the group file may be updated.
The setgrent() function is equivalent to setgroupent() with an argument of zero.
The endgrent() function closes any open files.
RETURN VALUES
The functions getgrgid(), getgrnam(), and getgrent() return a valid pointer to a group
structure on success and a NULL pointer if the entry was not found or an error occured. If
an error occured, the global variable errno is set to indicate the nature of the failure.
The functions getgrgid_r(), getgrnam_r(), and getgrent_r() return 0 on success or entry not
found, and non-zero on failure, setting the global variable errno to indicate the nature of
the failure.
The setgroupent() function returns the value 1 if successful, otherwise the value 0 is
returned, setting the global variable errno to indicate the nature of the failure.
The endgrent() and setgrent() functions have no return value.
FILES
/etc/group group database file
COMPATIBILITY
The historic function setgrfile(), which allowed the specification of alternative group
databases, has been deprecated and is no longer available.
ERRORS
The following error codes may be set in errno for getgrent, getgrent_r, getgrnam,
getgrnam_r, getgrgid, getgrgid_r, and setgroupent:
[EINTR] A signal was caught during the database search.
[EIO] An I/O error has occurred.
[EMFILE] The limit on open files for this process has been reached.
[ENFILE] The system limit on open files has been reached.
The following error code may be set in errno for getgrent_r, getgrnam_r, and getgrgid_r:
[ERANGE] The resulting struct group does not fit in the space defined by buffer
and buflen
Other errno values may be set depending on the specific database backends.
SEE ALSOgetpwent(3), group(5), nsswitch.conf(5)STANDARDS
The getgrgid() and getgrnam() functions conform to ISO/IEC 9945-1:1990 (``POSIX.1''). The
getgrgid_r() and getgrnam_r() functions conform to IEEE Std 1003.1c-1995 (``POSIX.1''). The
endgrent(), getgrent(), and setgrent() functions conform to X/Open Portability Guide
Issue 4, Version 2 (``XPG4.2'') and IEEE Std 1003.1-2004 (``POSIX.1'') (XSI extension).
HISTORY
The functions endgrent(), getgrent(), getgrgid(), getgrnam(), and setgrent() appeared in
Version 7 AT&T UNIX. The functions setgrfile() and setgroupent() appeared in 4.3BSD-Reno.
The functions getgrgid_r() and getgrnam_r() appeared in NetBSD 3.0.
BUGS
The functions getgrent(), getgrgid(), getgrnam(), setgroupent() and setgrent() leave their
results in an internal static object and return a pointer to that object. Subsequent calls
to the same function will modify the same object.
The functions getgrent(), endgrent(), setgroupent(), and setgrent() are fairly useless in a
networked environment and should be avoided, if possible. getgrent() makes no attempt to
suppress duplicate information if multiple sources are specified in nsswitch.conf(5)BSD April 30, 2008 BSD